More Than Friends
by MC-GAR-IL
Summary: They both want to be closer to the other, so what's the problem?


**MC:** Hey guys another one-shot for you and it's set before my story 'Comiket Love' but after 'Sleepover Fun', I guess you can consider all my kyoayo stories (both past and future) to be connected (unless stated otherwise)

In the past year Sugiura Ayano has learned that handling Toshinou Kyouko is an art form within itself. She often finds herself praising Yui for the fact that she hasn't strangled her best friend in all the years she's known her.

Toshinou Kyouko is a… challenge, so to speak. She's hyperactive, over excitable, has strange priorities, and seems unable to be serious about most things. But at the same time she's loyal, supportive, funny, and reliable (when it matters most). Ayano figures it's because of these same traits that she was attracted to the blonde. And yet, she wasn't satisfied.

She wanted, no craved to know more about the girl. Really it all started after the upperclassmen graduated from middle school. In the year preceding the amusement club and student council had struck up a tentative friendship between all the members which only got stronger by the end of the year. Ayano could successfully say that she'd be leaving Nanamori with Toshinou Kyouko as her friend. Now this was no easy feat, it took a lot of time, patience, (and on Chitose's part) nosebleeds. But now 'just friends' wasn't enough for Ayano. She wanted that familiarity that Yui and Akari shared with Kyoko, no, she wanted more than that. She wanted a glimpse at that girl Kyouko could be, the one that she's only heard in stories about her childhood. She wanted to see the shy and needy side of Kyouko, that part of her that didn't have all the bravado and lightness of the Kyouko she knows. She wanted to be able to hold her close and comfort her, and maybe, if she had the courage, kiss her again (the memory of the one other time she pressed her lips to her crush's flashed in her mind causing her to flush).

To her delight (and anxiousness) she and Kyouko were put in the same class (without Yui and Chitose as buffers).

"_You'll be fine Ayano-chan, just be yourself and I'm sure you'll get even closer with Toshino-san." _

That's what Chitose had told her on the first day of school before taking off her glasses and drifting off into whatever fantasy seemed to have struck her. Luckily Yui swooped in and jammed two tissues up her nose to stem the flow, and Chitose pulled a 'nice guy pose' and claimed that this year was going to be an even more plentiful harvest.

In the beginning it seemed as if nothing had changed, Kyouko was as happy-go-lucky as ever and Ayano was no closer to seeing that other side of her.

Well she wasn't until the day she had accidentally stumbled upon Yui and Kyouko in an empty classroom. For once Toshino Kyouko seemed subdued and was actually sitting still on a desk eyes downcast while Yui stood next to her obviously listening attentively to her friend's problem, left hand resting supportively on the other girls right shoulder. Ayano couldn't stop the clench of jealousy that was grabbing at her heart. Her irrational side told her it wasn't fair that Yui got to see the blonde like that, not when Ayano craved that level of trust and intimacy too. She tried to blink away the tears that were forming but they stung her eyes and she let a couple fall. Before retreating back to the student council office she took one more glance into the room and then walked away.

The next day Ayano feels like something is off.

All throughout class the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as if she's being watched. She looks around the room noticing that everyone is looking at the teacher at the front of the room. Chancing a glance behind her she sees Toshino Kyouko concentrating intently on whatever she's scribbling in her notebook, Ayano wants to say they're notes but that's wishful thinking.

She tries to drag her attention back to the lesson but she can't shake the feeling of eyes watching her. Sighing she puts her pencil down and tries to at least look like she's paying attention. During their break she gets a face full of blonde and blue and it takes her a moment to realize that Kyouko is hanging off of her.

"Ayano come with me to the store to get some rum raisin."

Even if she wanted to protest the words would have died in her throat as soon as she saw the sparkle in the other girls' eyes and the toothy smile on her face. Jutting out her bottom lip and turning her head to the side Ayano tries to hide the smile forming on her face.

"I suppose I have to, if I leave you to do it alone you'll get side-tracked and end up missing class"

Ayano turns back around when she feels the arms that were resting around her neck remove themselves, although she kinda wishes she kept looking the other way because the smile she was greeted with made her feel like mush and the flush in her cheeks was inevitable.

The hyperactive blonde began marching down the hall humming an upbeat tune, and Ayano trailed behind her at a much normal pace. When they reached the front door Kyouko reaches out and grabs Ayano's hand.

"Come on, come on, we've got to hurry Ayano, what if they run out?"

The taller girl wanted to point out that it was unlikely but she temporarily forgot how to form words as she focused on the hand that was now in hers, and the way it made her hand tingle, and her heart beat in a slow thud.

Kyouko continued to hold her hand as she started up her humming again, Ayano, still a little unsure, stayed a step behind her companion observing her from behind and thinking. She tried to tell herself to not get so excited but she couldn't keep the happiness that was swelling yup within her at bay. Instead a burst of confidence led her to start walking at the same pace as Kyouko and to grip her hand a little more firmly (but she held back from entwining their fingers).

When they finally make it to the store Kyouko releases Ayano's hand (much to her disappointment) and practically floats to the freezer section, Ayano decides to wait by the register. Ayano shifts awkwardly when she notices the cashier looking at her. His green eyes stare into the side of head, and she finally caves and glances in his direction. Obviously taking this as a sign of acknowledgement he begins to talk.

"Do you need any help?"

The smile on his face makes Ayano shuffle her feet and glance away for a second shaking her head no.

"I'm just waiting for a friend"

"You mean that other girl that walked n with you?"

Ayano nods her head in the affirmative dragging her gaze back to the boys face. He runs a hand through his brunette locks leaning forward and resting his elbows on the counter. Ayano looks at him and decides that he seems to be around her age.

"Are you in high school?"

"Yeah but I work part time here, and the one who usually has this shift called in and I decided to take his shift,"

He looks back and forth as if searching for eavesdroppers, "But don't tell anybody, technically I'm supposed to be at the doctors right now but what the school doesn't know can't hurt them."

He winks and then shifts reaching out his hand, "I'm Tamaki by the way" taking his offered hand and giving it a firm shake she replied "Ayano". Their hands hang there for a while and Tamaki's smile grows a little wider, and when Ayano is about to remove her hand from his grasp she hears a familiar loud excited voice.

"Ayano, I found some of that pudding you like so I thought…"

Kyouko slowly trailed off as she took in the scene before her. Ayano could have swear she saw her lips twitch downward in a frown, but it happened so fast, and then Kyouko was back to smiling, maybe a little _too_ hard. Ayano finally took her hand back and turned her body toward Kyouko smiling softly at her happy that she broke that strange situation. But Kyouko wasn't even looking at her, but past her at the Tamaki who was now glancing between both girls curiously. Walking to the counter Kyouko put the items down, smile still in place. It was kind of unnerving the way it sat on her face, like something was off but Ayano wasn't sure what.

"Sorry for taking so long I got a little side tracked" she continued although she continued to stare at the cashier.

"But at least you weren't bored while waiting for me" Tamaki announced the total and Kyouko basically slammed the money on the counter, and she still had that smile on her face but she finally tore her gaze away from the nervous boy and looked at Ayano, the intensity of her smile decreasing.

"We should go Yui and Chitose must be waiting for us"

Before Ayano could even say anything Kyouko had already and grabbed her hand, this time weaving their fingers together and started pulling her out the door.

"Wait"

Ayano stopped despite the tugging she felt on her hand. Turning around she saw Tamaki pull a slip of paper from behind the desk and scribble something on it.

"Here take this; you can text me or something"

A hand reached across Ayano and took the piece of paper from his hands.

"Thanks I'll make sure she does, now let's go Ayano"

Ayano barely had enough time to see Tamaki wave at her before they had left the store. Looking at her blonde companion she saw her slip the paper into her pocket, and Ayano had the feeling she wouldn't see that paper again anytime soon.

After about 3 minutes of walking in silence Kyouko finally slowed their hurried pace, but she kept looking ahead, and not even the sound of a hum made it past her lips. Ayano bit her lip in contemplation, she doesn't think she's seen Kyouko this quiet and withdrawn before. On one hand she excited to see this new side to the girl she likes, but n the other she's nervous and unsure of how to handle the situation, mostly because she isn't totally sure if this is her fault.

"Um, Kyouko are you, alright? Did something happen back there in the store?"

Nervously picking at the hem of her shirt Ayano tried to keep her gaze n her friend and resisted the urge to look at the ground. Kyouko stopped and turned to face the fidgeting girl, a little smile playing across her lips, it was rare for Ayano to just call her by her first name and when she did it always made Kyouko smile, but it faltered for a moment when she began to speak.

"It's- it's nothing Ayano, I just want to hurry back to school"

When they got back they bypassed their homeroom and turned down the hall that led to Yui and Chitose's class. Kyouko dropped her hand and opened the door striding in as if she owned the place and sat next to Yui returning to her silent state.

Ayano trailed after her still a little confused on what just happened. When she sat down next to Chitose she saw they was Yui raised her eyebrow at Kyouko, but she just sat there one cheek puffed out looking mildly irritated. Yui learned toward Ayano, and whispered,

"What's up with her?"

"I'm not exactly sure; after we left the convenience store she just got all sulky" Ayano glances worriedly at the blonde trying to decipher what out her in such a mood.

"Toshinou Kyouko, you shouldn't leave your ice cream in the bag, it'll melt before you get a chance to eat it."

As if a switch had been switched Kyouko's face broke out into a smile as opened up the bag she deposited on the desk and pulled out the pint of rum raisin, then she reached into the bag again and pulled something else out.

"Here Ayano, I tried to tell you while we were in the store, but I bought you that pudding you like"

Ayano flushed and wanted to politely refuse the dessert but on the other hand how could she refuse her favorite treat, plus it was a sign that Kyouko was thinking about her. Before she could think about it anymore there was a spoon in front of her face and Kyouko was telling her to say 'ahh'. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Yui pull some tissues out of her pocket, no doubt for Chitose, deciding to just go for it Ayano leaned into the offered spoon and took the sweet treat into her mouth. She wasn't exactly sure why but it tasted even better than it usually does (probably because Kyouko was feeding it to her, but Ayano couldn't admit that to herself yet).

"Toshinou Kyouko, I can feed myself" Ayano mumbled her words as she looked to the side trying to hide the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah of course… Ayano you've got a little…" Kyouko leaned across the table inspecting Ayano's face, said girl turned and intently looked into Kyouko's eyes, heart beat picking up. Seemingly finding what she was looking for Kyouko raised her hand toward Ayano's face and wiped off some stray traces of pudding from the corner of the now blushing girls mouth. They both stayed that way for another moment, just looking t each other, but the moment was broken by the sound of a chair falling backwards and several gasps ringing out in the classroom.

Pulling back suddenly they both look in the direction the commotion came from, and as expected there was Chitose on the floor glasses on the table blood spurting form her nose. Yui sighed and made her way over to the albino girl grabbing her glasses and reaching for the spare packet of tissues that she now keeps with her at all times.

"Here put these back on before you bleed to death"

Chitose just looked at Yui with a dazed look in her eyes

"Yet another bountiful harvest"

The rest of the class just look on in equal parts amazement and horror as Chitose finally lost consciousness. Shaking her head Yui hoisted the girl up, with the help of Ayano, and started their journey to the nurses' office.


End file.
